The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Schizachyrium scoparium and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Prairie Munchkin’. ‘Prairie Munchkin’ represents a new cultivar of little bluestem, an ornamental grass grown for landscape use.
The Inventor discovered the new cultivar, ‘Prairie Munchkin’, in June of 2006, as a chance seedling growing outdoors in his trial garden in Rushville, Ill. The trial garden had been planted with a mix of seeds derived from the open pollination of ‘Carousel’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 20,948) and unnamed proprietary Schizachyrium scoparium seedlings derived from ‘Carousel’ (not patented).
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by culm division in Union, Ill. in June 2010 by the Inventor. Asexual propagation by culm division and tissue culture has shown that the unique features of the new cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.